A Tenant Won’t Leave, the Lease Is Ignored, and This Joburg Landlord Is Paying the Price

In a quiet Parkwood street, a R4.5 million house has become the centre of a legal nightmare. The owner, a Joburg professional, leased her home to a man who seemed like the perfect tenant. He promised to pay rent upfront, drove a luxury Land Rover, and claimed to run several businesses.

Instead, he paid three months of rent, then vanished financially. He’s now been living rent-free in her property for over seven months, and he refuses to leave.

Worse, every attempt to evict him has been stalled by legal technicalities, tribunal red tape, and silence from key institutions. The homeowner has already lost over R500 000, and she’s not the only South African facing this issue.

From luxury car to legal chaos

The tenant’s pitch was polished. He said he’d deposit six months’ rent into a trust account. That never happened. After pressure, he paid another three months. Since then: nothing.

To cover the bond and municipal bills, the homeowner has sold her car, taken consulting jobs, and drained her savings. Still, the system offers no help.

“I have a binding lease,” she says. “But that seems to mean nothing.”

Locked out while the tenant stays in

Despite the breach of contract, the Gauteng Rental Housing Tribunal refused to enforce the lease’s termination clause. Instead, the tribunal demanded inspections to confirm the tenant’s “comfort” was being prioritised, even though the tenant wouldn’t let them in.

The landlord can’t access the house, even to do maintenance she’s legally obligated to handle. “I can’t enter my own home, but they still expect me to maintain it,” she says.

Fraud allegations go unanswered

The tenant, she claims, submitted fake payslips and suspicious visa documents. Home Affairs officials reportedly confirmed the visa inconsistencies verbally but refused to act unless he was found operating publicly.

The police wouldn’t open a fraud case. When she tried to remove her own furniture from the home, officers intervened on the tenant’s behalf.

According to bank statements shared during the lease process, his account at RMB Private Bank saw over R2 million in activity in just two months. Yet she says the bank hasn’t responded to any of her emails about potential document fraud or money laundering.

“He creates legal-looking letters and gets a real firm to send them. He knows how to stall the system,” she says.

No coordination, no accountability

The landlord has contacted SARS, CIPC, Home Affairs, the police, the tribunal, and even banks, all to no avail. Her research shows the tenant holds a student visa and a work visa simultaneously. He claims to run businesses, yet none are VAT registered or listed with employees.

“There’s no paper trail, no tax records, no flagged transactions. How is that possible?” she asks.

What’s clear is that the legal and regulatory systems, meant to protect property owners, are working in silos. “There’s no way to connect tax fraud, immigration status, and tenancy abuse. Each department shrugs and points to the next.”

A problem across the country

Social media and online landlord groups have seen a sharp rise in similar complaints. South Africans renting out their properties are finding themselves stuck in costly battles they can’t afford.

The homeowner believes her case shows how tenant protections, while necessary, are now being exploited by individuals who understand the delays in the system. Legal counterclaims, fake paperwork, and drawn-out tribunal processes are weaponised to buy time.

“This isn’t just my story. It’s happening everywhere,” she says. “There are people living in houses they don’t own, not paying rent, and no one stops them.”

What needs to change?

She’s calling for urgent reforms to balance the scales:

• Tribunal reform: Leases must carry legal weight, and delays must be limited.

• Cross-institution checks: Immigration, tax, and financial records should be reviewed in fraud cases.

• Support for small landlords: Most aren’t property moguls. They need affordable legal recourse.

“I’m not asking for special treatment. I just want the law to work.”

Until then, she continues to pay for a house she can’t enter, while a tenant who allegedly lied, forged, and manipulated the system lives comfortably, protected by the very rules designed to ensure fairness.

Also read: Cracks in the Foundation: Somerset Couple Takes Pam Golding to Court Over “Hidden” Home Defects

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Source: Moneyweb

Featured Image: Depositphotos